Can SettleStop IntelliJack™ Settle?

SettleStop IntelliJack™ is a joist support jack that aids failing joists in holding up the floor of a house. It can be installed even in dirt crawl space. With clay soils like the ones found in St. Cloud, MN, settling occurs when the moisture displaces the soil through shrinking and expansion. Part of installing SettleStop IntelliJack™ is excavating the area the jack will be placed in and filling it with excavation fill so that it doesn’t settle. Engineering filling is a mix of sturdy soils with very little shrink-swell capacity.

Some joist support methods only focus on supporting the joist and don’t take into account potential settling. These methods are short-lived and short-sighted, so when settling does occur, the floor begins to sag again due to lack of support. The excavation fill used for SettleStop IntelliJack™ installation at least guarantees some protection from settling. This makes it a much better support method than others, especially if the installation needs to be done in a dirt crawl space. The future-proofing is what expands the lifespan of the product and ensures that you only need to pay for repairs once.

If the crawl space sees a lot of flooding and soil erosion, then there might be a bit of settling. However, this isn’t a problem because SettleStop IntelliJack™ can be adjusted to accommodate for any changes. While it is nice to know that your floor will still be supported if there is settling, it’s better to prevent it altogether. This can be done by waterproofing your crawl space so no water is able to flow in. Waterproofing is especially important for dirt crawl spaces, since these areas experience the most change when flooding.